Hitchhikers
by BlueSuedeShoes
Summary: Dean and Sam pick up a very exhausted, very unusual hitchhiker.
1. Chapter 1

**Author's Comment: My first attempt at a crossover. I haven't decided if it's going to end here or whether I might not add a chapter or two for the fun of it. I further cannot decide whether this is going to be Chlam or Chlean if I DO continue it. I guess we'll see. Anyway, enjoy!**

"Come on, Ollie, pick up. Pick up. Pick up. Pick up. Please don't make me call Clark," Chloe pleaded with her phone, knowing it was no use and that Oliver was in a business conference. He wouldn't see her missed calls for a few hours yet. She looked around her: an empty highway stretched for miles. With a frustrated sigh she sat down in the dirt, totally disregarding the cocktail dress she was wearing. She'd been walking down this road bare foot for hours (having ditched her stilettos long ago). She couldn't decide whether it was worth the embarrassment of calling Clark to come get her and carry her back to Metropolis.

It would help if she had the first clue where she was.

She was just deciding she should call Bart (he would love to come to her rescue and could probably be persuaded to keep the whole affair a secret) when she heard a car approaching. She glanced up to see a shiny black Impala kicking up dust as it headed toward her. Thank goodness. She stood, flagging the car down. Whoever was driving could at least tell her where she was.

The Impala slowed to a halt in front of her and the window rolled down, revealing two very attractive men around her age, one with dark brown hair and the other a sandy blonde. The dark haired one in the passenger seat was turned away from her and apparently hadn't realized the window was down yet.

"Dean I said _no_ hitchhikers!"

"Oh please, she's just a poor, stranded, helpless girl, Sammy." Chloe bristled at being so underestimated.

" We both know you're only stopping 'cause she's hot. And Meg was just some stranded girl, too."

The one called Dean winced. "Good point. Too late now, though." He flashed a grin as Chloe leaned in the window, clearing her throat. "Where you headed, gorgeous?"

"Chloe rolled her eyes but smiled. "I don't need a ride just my bearings. I'm a bit lost."

The dark haired one, Sam, breathed a sigh of relief. "We're just north of Lawrence," he said.

"Lawrence, where?" Please say Kansas.

"Kansas," Dean frowned at her.

"Oh thank goodness."

"Just how lost are you, exactly?"

"That depends on how far I am from Smallville."

"Whereville?"

"Metropolis?" she tried hopefully.

Both pairs of eyebrows shot up in response. "It's a couple hours from here, and that's actually where we're headed. We can't just leave her here, man," he added to Sam.

"Oh yes we can." He turned to Chloe. "No offense, but I've had some lousy experiences with hitchhikers."

"No, I understand completely," she said hurriedly. "I've got someone coming to get me soon," she lied.

"Yeah right. You don't even know what state you're in. Look, it's cool; my brother and I are cops. You've got nothing to worry about." He unlocked the doors for her.

Chloe looked at them skeptically. "Cops, huh? Can I see some ID?"

Sam stifled a groan as Dean fumbled around for his wallet. "Here," he handed it to her.

Chloe smirked, holding up the ID and reading the name on it. "Wow. Dave Mustaine. What was it like being the lead guitarist for Metallica? I thought your name was Dean, anyway."

"Um..."

"I've got to give you props, though. Aside from the name, this is one of the best fakes I've ever seen. So what's your friend's name? Roger Townshend? 'cause you strike me as more of a The Who kind of guy," she grinned at them both, amused.

"My name is Sam Winchester, and this is my brother Dean," Sam said, heaving a sigh. Sorry about him. Can't help himself. I'm beginning to suspect he's a pathological liar."

"And you're on your way to Metropolis because?" she prompted.

"We're kind of on a road trip, and we heard a rumor about Metropolis that we wanted to check out."

"The rumor being?"

Sam shifted uncomfortably. "Rather not say."

Chloe straightened up. "Fair enough. I like him," she added, smirking at Dean and indicating Sam. "He's not a liar. Which, by the way, I would have known anyway because your eyes darted to the left corner when you said you were cops. People always do that when they're lying."

"I like her. Can we keep her? Please, Sammy?" Dean pleaded, always curious about any female who could call him out on his BS.

Sam rubbed his forehead. "Yeah sure. Want a ride?" he offered.

Chloe bit her lip, considering it. They seemed harmless enough. She pulled out her phone to check the time. The battery died before her eyes. No choice now. "Yeah, all right, thanks. But first, may I ask why you wanted to pose as cops?"

"Has to do with that rumor we're checking out," Sam explained.

"The one that you won't tell me?" she said dubiously.

"That's the one," he nodded.

He thought for a moment and then rolled her eyes, climbing recklessly into the backseat. "I hope I don't regret this."

"Please, with company like this?" grinned Dean, revving the engine as she pulled a seatbelt on. "So how does a girl like you end up walking barefoot down the highway in formalwear, without a clue as to what state she's in?" He glanced back at her in the rear view.

"Honestly, it's a long story."

"It's a long drive," Sam pointed out, not a little curious himself.

"And what's your name by the way?"

"Tina Turner," Chloe smirked.

"That was the first name you thought of? Weak," said an amused Dean.

Chloe laughed. "It's Chloe, and my ending up out here is kind of one of the hazards of my job."

"What the heck do you do?" Sam asked.

"It's kind of hard to explain, really, but it occasionally throws me into dealings with some shady people. Hence being attacked, drugged and kidnapped," she added.

Dean looked over his shoulder to see if she was kidding, eyebrow raised.

"Oh, I'm serious," she laughed. "Serious as the grave."

"That is my least favorite expression," Sam muttered under his breath. "So does one dare ask how you got out of that situation and ended up out here?"

Dean looked at him. "Dare ask? Jeez, you sound like such a pansy since you went to college."

Sam only rolled his eyes and Chloe giggled. "Well, I'm not exactly an easy person to abduct. The fact that they managed at all is sort of impressive. I've had a lot of training in self-defense"--Thank you, Ollie.--"so by the time the drugs wore off..." she trailed off.

"Kickin' ass and takin' names. I like that in a girl," Dean grinned.

"Does he always flirt so over the top like this?" Chloe asked Sam pointedly.

"Always."

"You make it sound like I don't mean it," Dean said, pretending to be hurt.

Chloe watched the two in amusement. Yeah, they were definitely brothers. The sibling relationship was obvious in every drop of sarcasm.

"So now that I've explained myself as much as I'm technically allowed to," she interrupted their bickering after a while, "would you two mind explaining to me what exactly is bringing you to Metropolis?"

Sam shot Dean a look but Dean answered first. "Well, we're pretty interested in urban legends and junk like that. How they got started, you know? There's a lot of weird stuff happening in Metropolis over the last couple of years. Thought we'd go check it out."

"And that's what you've been doing on your road trip?"

"Something like that."

She could tell they weren't telling the whole truth, but she didn't press the matter. It wasn't as though she was being fully honest herself. She wondered vaguely whether their lives were half as complicated as hers. Doubtful, she thought ruefully. It didn't get much more complicated than keeping multiple secret identities straight, doing illegal computer hacking and other reconnaissance for a living, and looking after an entire team of superheroes on a daily basis. She let out a long slow breath. She was going to demand a day off after this one. And a foot massage. She rubbed her bare feet.

Dean looked back at her.

"So what's with the dress?"

"I had to make an appearance last night at a really huge social function. Someone was supposed to be there and I was trying to find him, but" she sighed, "I think his crones found me first."

"You are one weird chick."

"Dean, dude!" Sam admonished.

"He's got a point, you know," Chloe said humorously.

"Yeah, he's got a point," Dean repeated smugly to Sam.

"Can we ask who you were looking for?" Sam asked.

"Someone I thought was dead," Chloe said, thinking of Lex. Her face betrayed her disgust at the very thought of the man.

Dean and Sam exchanged significant glances, wide-eyed.

"Er...what do you mean, you thought he was dead?"

"Well," Chloe said, leaning back and closing her eyes, trying to decide how much was safe to tell them. "He was supposedly murdered a little over a year ago. Good riddance, really. He was so steeped in blood the world is a lot better off without him. But recently a lot of shady business dealings and--" she caught herself before saying 'murders' "--other stuff has been happening that's got his name written all over it. So either he's back or someone is following in his footsteps, either of which are less than impossible. Personally, I prefer an imitator if given the choice." She never wanted to set eyes on Lex Luthor again.

"So, when you say 'steeped in blood?' " Dean questioned, his attention having flared at that particular phrase.

"Like Richard the third."

"Who?"

"It's Shakespeare, Dean," Sam explained. Chloe opened her eyes to glance approvingly at him. "King Richard is a bloodier story than Macbeth. The guy murdered just about everyone in the royal family to become king."

"And he only wanted to be king to have something to amuse himself with," Chloe finished the story for him."

"Sounds like a charming guy," Dean said, the wheels in his head turning. He was starting to wonder if what he and Sam were looking for didn't have something to do with whomever Chloe was talking about.

"You have no idea."

"So what's this guy's name, just out of curiosity?"

"Luthor."

"As in the billionaire? Jeez, beautiful, you do run in a dangerous crowd, don't you?"

"You don't know the half of it," Chloe sighed.


	2. Chapter 2

**Author's Comment: I feel this slowly slipping in a Chlean direction....just sayin'.**

After a while, exhaustion had claimed Chloe, and she had ended up dozing off for a bit in the back of Sam and Dean's car. She woke with a start when she felt the car pulling to a stop. Surely she hadn't nodded for more than ten or fifteen minutes. There was no way they were in Metropolis already.

"You want to wake Sleeping Beauty back there or should I?" she heard Dean's voice.

She thought about letting one of them "wake" her, but decided against it. "No need," she said groggily, straightening up. "Where are we?"

"Stopping for food," Sam replied. "Dean is incapable of fighting his primal urges. He gets hungry, we eat. He gets tired, we sleep. Regardless of where we are or how far we are from our destination." Sam shot his brother a look and Chloe determined that Sam was tired of taking detours.

Chloe looked outside and saw they were outside of a shady looking diner. Her mind flashed to the possibility of a phone, which would be nice, but then she remembered what she was wearing.

"Um, guys? I'm not entirely opposed to getting food," her stomach rumbled in agreement, reminding her that she hadn't eaten all day, "but could we make it to go? I'm not exactly appropriately attired?" She glanced down at her filthy bare feet.

"What?" Dean questioned, confused. Then he glanced back at her. "Oh yeah. Right...well..." he glanced around. "Sammy-boy, why don't you get us a table, and I'll go with blondie to get some shoes or something. There's a 7-11 just over there," he jerked his head to indicate the direction.

Chloe knew she ought to be more nervous about the situation she was in, about being alone with two strange men with no cell phone and no cash, but she couldn't make herself be freaked out. Hanging around the JL had given her a second sense for when she was in danger, and for whatever reason, her Chloe-senses just weren't tingling.

"That all right with you, Chloe?" Sam asked.

"Well, yeah, but I haven't got any cash. They creeps who jumped me last night didn't exactly return my purse this morning."

Sam nodded. "No problem, we'll cover it."

"You don't have t--"

"Hey it's cool, babe. A pair of flip flops ain't gonna cost that much."

"Don't call me babe," Chloe retorted before she could stop herself.

Dean's eyebrows shot up. "Really? So far I think I've called you gorgeous, beautiful, Blondie, Sleeping Beauty, and several other names. 'Babe' you have a problem with?"

Chloe only nodded, a smile tugging at the corner of her lips. "My actual name is good, too, you know."

Sam laughed as he climbed out of the car. Dean chuckled, too, starting the engine back up. "Whatever you say, Tina Turner."

Chloe smirked, shaking her head.

When they rejoined Sam, Chloe was wearing a pair of flip flops, some cut-off denim shorts and a bright green tank top.

"Better?" Sam asked when she sat down across from him. Dean carefully scooted his chair closer to Chloe.

Chloe nodded. "You have no idea. I like that dress and all, but not for hours on end and definitely not for travel purposes."

"Yeah I dunno. I'm starting to regret giving you new clothes, too. I was kind of a fan of the backless blue silk thing." Dean gave her a seductive look to which she merely scoffed.

"Ignore him," Sam said.

"Kinda hard to," Chloe laughed.

"What kinda pie do they have?" Dean asked, attending to more important matters: his stomach.

Sam rolled his eyes. "Peach, apple, and blueber--"

"Ooh, blueberry." Two voices said it at once. Dean glanced at Chloe, eyebrows up.

"What?" she shrugged. "It's my favorite and I haven't eaten since the shrimp cocktail last night."

"Really," Dean said to Sam. "Can we _please_ keep her?"

Chloe giggled and a waitress showed up. "What can I do for you folks?" she asked, pulling a notepad out of the pocket of her apron.

"Two slices of blueberry pie with ice cream and--" he looked to Sam.

Sam sighed. "Go ahead and make it three. No ice cream with the third."

"No problem. Anything else?"

"Actually," Chloe interjected. "Do you have a phone I can use?"

The waitress shook her head. "Sorry. We took the pay phone out last year. Cell phones took over and all." She shrugged.

"That's it then," Chloe said, letting the waitress go.

"Got a boyfriend you're trying to get in touch with?" Dean asked.

Chloe shook her head, chuckling a little at the very idea. "Considering how many over-protective men there are in my life, that's a definite no."

Sam succeeded in looking only mildly surprised whereas Dean made no effort to hide his delight.

"Well--"

"Dean, if you say anything along the lines of 'We can change that, if you like,' I will, in fact, be forced to kill you."

"Shutting up."

Sam smirked. "Maybe we should keep you," he joked as three plates of blueberry pie appeared before him.

"How can you eat blueberry pie without ice cream?" Chloe asked, wrinkling her nose with a smile.

"Because he's not human," Dean offered, shoving an over-sized bite into his mouth.

Chloe followed suit and took a bite. She practically died as it slid slowly down to her empty stomach, which rumbled in approval. "Lord that's good," she said, eyes closed.

"So did you want to borrow one of our cell phones, by the way?" Sam offered.

"Pie first," Chloe said simply. "But yes, please. Thank you."

Dean chuckled.

"Who're you planning to call?"

Chloe put the fork down thoughtfully. "Probably my boss."

"Your boss?" Sam questioned, confused.

"Well, I'd call my cousin, but by now she's either too busy freaking out over my not coming home last night to be rational and listen to me telling her I'm fine, or she's completely unaware of the fact that I'm missing at all, in which case I feel no need to enlighten her. I _could_ call Clark--"

"Clark being?"

"My best friend. But when he finds out about this, he's going to spend the next year being angry at my boss for getting me in this situation to begin with, even though it's not his fault, as well as lecturing me about the ramifications of hitchhiking in this day and age, which punishment I am not eager to start. Besides that, he's going to insist I stay where I am so he can swoop in and save the day." She sighed. "Then there's my friend/employees Bart, Victor, and AC, all of whom would skip the lectures but still insist on swooping in. Of course, I _could_ call Dr. Hamilton, but he would just be confused and start lecturing me about working a job that is too dangerous for me, and in the end he wouldn't be much help. Which narrows it down to either Oliver, my boss, or Bruce, my boss's friend whom, after doing a lot of business deals with, I have become very good friends with. Bruce is probably aware by now that I'm missing because _Ollie_ is probably aware by now. He, however, has much too much on his own plate over in Gotham to be worried with my minor troubles, which is why I'm going to tell Ollie off for bothering him with this when I get back. Ollie, as my final resort, will be relieved to hear from me, and I will be able to actually talk him _out_ of his initial reflex to swoop in. His lecture on hitchhiking will only last about two minutes compared to Clark's solid year." She finished and took an exasperated bite of pie. She looked up to find Dean and Sam staring dumbfounded at her. "What?" she asked through the bite of pie.

Dean's mouth had slid open slightly and Sam had paused mid-bite, the fork still in his mouth.

"_What?_"

"You weren't kidding when you said there were a lot of over-protective men in your life, were you?"

Chloe laughed. "And those are only the ones I'm _friends_ with."

"Meaning?"

"Well there's Jimmy, my ex who left me for Kara, the blonde wonder, who still cares about me if I'm really in trouble, but whom I'm not exactly on speaking terms with. Then there _was_ Davis, my paramedic-friend-turned-serial-killer-and-personal-stalker who died a couple of years ago."

Sam's fork clattered to the ground.

"Oh, and then of course there's Pete, my high school friend, whom I've kind of lost touch with. He's still harboring a hint of animosity toward me for having a crush on Clark instead of him. But, he, too, would put the other stuff aside and come to my rescue if called upon. Oh," she added as an afterthought, "and I forgot Detective Jon'z. I haven't really seen much of him lately, I guess." She shrugged.

"I think I'm a little afraid of you right now," Dean said in awe.

Chloe only laughed good-naturedly. "Well, take it as fair warning against foul play, then," she said, pointing her fork from Sam to Dean. "You guys mess with me, I have an entire army of men who will string you up from the nearest tree."

Sam nodded. "_Apparently_."

"So how far are we from Metropolis?" she asked brightly.

"About forty-five minutes to go."

"Oh, thank goodness. I can't wait to get back to work. I picked a lot of interesting information before things took such a negative turn."

"About the billionaire Lex Luthor?" Dean asked, still in awe.

Chloe nodded.

"Who is supposed to be dead," Sam amended.

"That's the one," she said.

"Any theories on how he might still be alive?" Sam asked, his mind slowly ebbing back to business.

"None whatsoever, but--"

"When you say 'Ollie,' do you mean your boss is _the_ Oliver Queen?" Dean interrupted.

Chloe nodded absently. "Yeah." Dean fell back into silent staring. "Anyway, I haven't got a clue how he could still be alive. All I know is that it takes a lot to kill a Luthor."

"And when you say 'Bruce,' you do, in fact, mean Bruce Wayne of Wayne Industries?"

"Mmhmm."

"What do you mean it takes a lot to kill a Luthor?" Sam questioned.

"And you yourself, are not a billionaire of any kind. You simply are on nickname basis with these people."

"Uh huh." Then to Sam. "I just mean that in his life, Lex survived a lot. Kidnappings, explosions, car crashes, plane crashes, being stranded on an island. Assassins."

"Wow. I guess I see what you mean."

"And you have all these men at your beck and call?"

Chloe looked at Dean, fighting not to laugh at his face.

"Will you marry me?" Dean asked

Chloe just laughed, setting her fork down on the now empty plate. Sam rolled his eyes.


	3. Chapter 3

**Author's Comment: Well, I was never exactly satisfied with this chapter to begin with, and then someone left me the comment that the JL just wasn't acting overprotective enough and it needed more interaction between them and the Winchesters. So I reread it, and I was like, "That's exactly what the problem is." So: rewrite!! Be excited. I know I am.**

Sam and Dean could only think, "Wow, she didn't exaggerate," when they finally arrived at the building Chloe had guided them to. At least five men had all appeared instantaneously to either embrace her and check to see whether she was all right or to scold her for being reckless...and then embrace her and check to see whether she were all right.

Dean was particularly uncomfortable with the fact that there wasn't an unattractive one in the entire lot. Not that he was insecure or anything...it just would have been nice if at least a few of them were...well...nothing to worry about.

Not the case.

"Ollie" in particular seemed to be on especially good terms with Chloe. He had managed to shove the pack of wolves off of her and was giving her a once over. Dean's jaw muscles flexed visibly.

"Dude, Dean, what's up with you?" Sam asked, noticing his brother's tenseness.

"Nothing."

"You're totally in love with this girl, aren't you?" Sam laughed.

"No," Dean defended, bristling.

"Yeah. Right."

"Chloe, I swear to God, if I had known I would have been out of that meeting so fast head's would have been spinning."

"Oliver, it's okay," Chloe was reassuring her boss. "Sam and Dean took good care of me. Didn't you, boys?" She glanced at the Winchesters, grinning. Oliver looked over at them as well, his expression much less friendly.

"I don't know what you thought you were doing hitchhiking, Chloe. Do you have any idea how dangerous that was?" said an extremely tall man with dark hair.

Chloe rolled her eyes, winking at Sam and Dean. "Give it a rest, Clark. I know."

"Yeah well," Clark glared at Sam and Dean. "Doesn't mean they're not con artists or criminals or--"

"Clark!" Chloe admonished.

"Hey!" Dean interrupted, getting irritated. "I'd like to point out that we were the ones who found her on the side of the road and brought her home. Where were you when she got kidnapped last night, huh, Goliath?"

Clark took a step closer to Dean, Dean matched him. Chloe pried them apart. "Would you two stop being ridiculous?" she asked in exasperation.

"I don't know, Chloelicious. I'm glad you're okay and all, but why didn't you just give me a call?" one in a red hoodie said, eyeing Dean and Sam warily.

Chloe sighed. "I told you, Bart. I was about to call you but my battery died."

"And you two couldn't have just loaned her a phone?" Oliver growled, looking at Sam and Dean suspiciously. He clearly didn't approve.

"Did it matter, blondie?" Dean threw back. "You never answered her calls. And as a matter of fact, we _did _loan her a phone. How do you think she left the message that she'd found a ride?"

Oliver's knuckles whitened. Victor, Bart, and AC were all standing between Chloe and the Winchesters, and Clark was still looking like he was waiting for an excuse to take Dean down.

"So is there anything else you need us for?" Sam asked finally.

Chloe shook her head, peering around the wall of men between her and Sam. "But you guys don't have to take off just yet do you?" She looked a little disappointed.

Sam was about to say they really should, but they'd come visit her later. However, Dean beat him to the punch. "Nah, we don't have to go anywhere just yet. Do we, Sammy?"

"We should really look into a place to stay, don't you think, _Dean_," Sam said, hinting broadly that they had things to do other than stick around for Dean to make puppy dog eyes at Chloe.

"Well why don't you come by and see me later? I assume you'll be in the city for a couple of days?"

Oliver shot a look at her, the idea clearly displeasing to him. "Oh get over it," she said to him under her breath.

"Absolutely," Dean said. Sam rolled his eyes. He couldn't say he'd ever seen his brother lovesick. It was a little pathetic, honestly.

Oliver glared at them. Chloe shoved his shoulder playfully. "Shouldn't you go call Bruce?"

Oliver's ears turned red. "What makes you think I need to call him?"

Chloe rolled her eyes. "Please." Sam and Dean chuckled.

"Dude, you're hopeless," Sam said when they climbed back in the car.

"What? Can't a dude make a date?"

"You usually can. I didn't see you getting her number," Sam remarked. Dean lifted a swatch of paper, smirking.

"When the heck did you get that?"

"In the 7-11 while you were chillin' at the diner."

"Unbelievable." Sam shook his head as Dean started the engine.

"Yes she _is_," Dean's smirk became more pronounced.

"Dude, you're not even dating her and you're _so_ whipped."

Dean glared at him seriously. "Dean Winchester is _never_ whipped."

* * *

"I don't believe it. I just don't."

"What?" Dean asked, lounging on the couch while his brother did internet research on the victims.

They'd spent the afternoon at the morgue, swiping coroner's reports and talking to friends and family of the deceased. The strange thing was their wasn't much of the last. The people who'd died seemed to be recluses, people who didn't do much other than worked, and occasionally, people who just flat-out creeped their neighbors out. But there had been a distinct pattern in the murders, and there was still a definite possibility of something supernatural going on.

"Well first of all, we know it looks like the same killer each time purely because of the patterns. Every person who died, died the same way. Knife in the back in their sleep behind locked doors," Sam reviewed.

"Thank you, Captain Redundant. What can't you believe?" Dean motioned him on impatiently.

"Every person who died...I think they were working for Lex Luthor. It's difficult to trace for sure, because it looks like it might have been some sort of covert project. I'd have to break about a hundred security codes just to get the ground plans, let alone the list of employees."

"So...what you're saying is--" Dean looked up hopefully.

"Looks like we have a different excuse to go talk to the love of your life."

"Sweet," Dean jumped up from the couch grabbing his jacket and the keys. He walked out the door. Sam just stared at the door. Moments later Dean returned. Sticking his head in the door, "Dude, what are you waiting for? Clock's tickin'."

Sam sighed and started grabbing his things.

"Great, meet you at the car," Dean shut the door.


	4. Chapter 4

Chloe could only marvel at Sam and Dean, who had appeared on her security monitor. She was shocked that they'd come back after what she'd just learned about them. How careless could they be? Surely...

Well, this just meant she wasn't going to have to send one of her boys out after them. She watched as Dean eventually noticed the security camera and flashed a smirk at it, winking. Thinking it was probably a stupid move, she sent them up.

Dean walked in first, failing to suppress a grin. "Hey, beautiful. Miss me?"

Sam was right behind him. "Hey, Chloe. We...woah." Sam forgot what he was about to say as he took in the room they'd just entered.

Dean stared as well. "Wow. Shiny."

Surrounded by computers and high tech phenomenon of every variety, the boys could only gaze in wonder. "W-what did you say you do again?" Sam managed to get out.

"Absolutely _none_ of your business," Chloe said sharply.

Dean glanced over his shoulder at her. "Something bothering you, beautiful?"

She was looking him up and down with an eyebrow raised, and while normally Dean would consider that a good thing with women, he had a feeling it was the opposite in this case.

"Very impressive," Chloe shook her head at him as though appraising him.

"Uh..."

"Really. I've got to say, you look really good for a wanted murderer whose death certificate I was just reading."

Sam cringed and Dean made a nervous joke, "I eat my green veggies?"

Chloe rolled her eyes.

"How did you find out?" Sam asked wearily.

"I used to be a reporter, and old habits die hard. I can't help but google everyone I meet. And then after I discovered that one of you was, in fact, _dead_, well, justimagine my surprise when one of my contacts called to say some FBI agents with your names and descriptions started nosing around my dead bodies. After that I started digging a lot deeper. You guys are lucky I never involve the cops in _anything_."

"We can explain," Sam said hurriedly.

"That should be good," Chloe said, folding her arms and sitting down on the couch, her eyes moving from Dean to Sam and back again. "I'm not sure where I want you to start," she said. "With the murder charge, the death certificate, the fact that you tried to pass yourselves off to me as cops, that you've appeared across the country with uncanny relation to unusual murders...oh, I know, why don't you talk about the fact that you spent this afternoon passing yourselves off as FBI agents, sticking your noses in places that they don't belong, specifically: the murder of a string of Luthorcorp employees." She looked at each of them expectantly.

Dean blinked at her. "Er...Sammy? You wanna get this one?"

Sam looked at her nervously. "I'll explain everything, but you're not going to believe us."

"Try me."

----_Ten minutes later._----

"So what you're saying is that you've dedicated your lives to hunting..."

"Demons," Dean supplied.

"And you're in Metropolis because you think that Lex..."

"May be murdering people from beyond the grave, yes," Sam sighed.

"And you two would actually know how to..."

"Destroy him. If that is what's going on, of course," Dean finished.

Chloe looked from one to the other. Well, they weren't lying. At the very least, they _believed_ they were telling the truth. So either they were certifiably insane or--

"I guess I've heard weirder," she sighed, rubbing her temples.

Dean and Sam exchanged looks. "You...have?"

"You'd be surprised." She allowed herself a slightly smug look.

"So..."

"So I believe you. I guess. I'd rather not, to be perfectly honest. I've experienced enough to haunt my nightmares for multiple lifetimes _without_ this, but..." she trailed off, heaving another sigh.

"Wow. I don't think we've ever had someone take it quite that well," Sam said, looking to Dean, who was awestruck.

"Nope."

Chloe looked up then. "So, what can I do to help?"

"Food would be good," Dean said before Sam could speak. Sam shot him a 'Really, Dean?' expression, but said nothing.

Chloe chuckled. Food did always make situations like this much less awkward. There were things to hold and chew....

Which is how they found themselves sitting on the floor eating leftover chinese take-out from the previous week and swapping stories of weirdness.

"Really, I'm still sad that we didn't stick around that town just for a couple more days," Dean was saying.

"How many chances do you get to go to your own funeral?" Chloe finished for him, laughing.

"Yeah but Sammy's the one who had to deal with that freaky haunted painting."

Sam shuddered visibly. "God that thing was creepy."

"Haunted painting?"

"As if the actual people in the painting weren't creepy enough, one of them moved, and one of them came out of the portrait to slit people's throats."

Chloe's hand went to her own throat subconsciously.

"What about you, Chloe? You claim you've heard weirder."

"Well similar to Dean, I've known a shapeshifter, but she was a human infected by radioactive meteor rocks. The girl was so obsessed with my friend Lana that she actually tried to _become_ Lana. But I have to say my two worst experiences were being buried alive," she shivered convulsively at the thought, "and....I'm thinking the time that a guy I dated could split himself into two people, using his ability to cheat on me. He eventually tried to throw me over a bridge." She took a bite of lasagna and chewed thoughtfully.

"Dude," Dean said. "I've said it before and I'll say it again. Demons I get. People are just scary."

Chloe laughed. "You can say that again. I feel like I've been dealing with stuff like this on a weekly basis ever since I started high school. I've actually gotten to the point where threats to my life are an overrated annoyance."

"I suddenly sympathize with all of the overprotective men in your life," Sam joked. "I wouldn't want you wandering off, either. Not with a history like that. How did you not get killed after any of that stuff? I mean, getting thrown off a bridge...being buried _alive_?" he questioned curiously.

"I have some _very _good friends,"Chloe gave a small smile that hinted at more than she was telling. "They really look out for me. Clark and Oliver are my best friends and really, they're like...I don't know, my _heroes_." She settled on the word, knowing she wouldn't find a more fitting one.

Dean, simply because he was Dean, started to do his overdramatic version of Enrique Iglesias, "_I can be your hero, baby. I can kiss away the pain. I wou--_"

"Dude! Shut up!" Sam said, caught between laughter and vicarious embarrassment. He threw a napkin at his brother, who continued on unabashed.

Chloe just giggled, shaking her head in amusement. "Really though, you two. Back to business--"

Dean sobered up instantly.

"--I want to know everything you know about the Lex business. Whatever's going on here concerns me more than it does you two, so I have a right. Furthermore, you're not going to be able to get anywhere without my help. I want to know if you found anything that proves it's supernatural and not just Lex having faked his own death or a completely separate person acting in Lex's interests."


	5. Chapter 5

From what Chloe could tell, Sam and Dean didn't have any solid proof that they were dealing with something from beyond the grave, and while the idea was an unnerving and apparently very real one, Chloe wasn't convinced.

After Sam and Dean had left her for the evening, she began working restlessly at the computer. Searches on everything from the size of the knife wounds to why Lex's "ghost" might be using that method of murder, if it were actually a ghost. She researched the entire life stories of the people who had died, their friends and family and lack thereof, the fields they had specialized in, and, at some point after two in the morning, she finally managed to break down she didn't want to _know_ how many firewalls in order to figure out what it was that they had been doing for Luthorcorp.

That was the point where she nearly passed out.

Someone had recreated 33.1, and now, in typical Luthor style, was getting rid of all the evidence.

A nauseous feeling in her stomach, she pulled up a list of known meteor-infected. Slowly, one by one, she began pulling up files on them. Without so much as a hint of it making the papers, they had systematically gone missing about six months ago. The murders had all occurred within the last two weeks, the first being two Wednesdays ago, and from what she could tell, the lab had stopped functioning the previous Tuesday.

Chloe shuddered. This was no ghost.

She started breaking into Luthorcorp file after file, knowing it was only a matter of time before someone noticed her and spiked her back. All Lex's former illegal projects, all the one's he had shut down had been rebuilt and then shut down within the last three weeks.

"But what happened two weeks ago?" she muttered aloud to herself.

The answer came to her almost as soon as she'd thought the question.

Wall Street had taken a serious dive. Some businesses had come out all right, like Wayne or Stark Industries. Queen Industries had taken a small hit, although Oliver claimed it was nothing to worry about.

Luthorcorp, on the other hand, hadn't done well at all. Their stocks were at their lowest point in the last seven years, and several branches were being down-sized.

Somebody had decided they couldn't afford to keep up all of the covert operations.

Chloe backed away from the computer and sat down on the couch, a hand clutching her heart. How many people had been murdered without anyone noticing? The meteor-infected from 33.1, they'd been people pulled off the streets that no one would miss. She remembered with a lurch of her stomach that there had been some sort of unexplained explosion at a Luthorcorp Lab about a week ago. No survivors. Lois had been going on and on about how fishy it was and how no one could seem to explain what the lab had been for.

No, she thought wearily. Sam and Dean were definitely wrong. This was no ghost. This was human through and through. Only a human could be so sloppy.

The question was: Who? Who within Luthorcorp was behind all the madness? Someone was pulling the strings, and they were a much less practiced puppet master than Lex had ever been.

Then, without warning the electricity in the room surged. Sparks and smoke started shooting off from one of her circuit boards and white noise showed up on all of her screens before everything died.

The power was completely cut, and all her servers had crashed. Chloe swore under her breath. Maybe whoever this was was a little better than she'd given them credit for.

* * *

Dean laid awake in the middle of the night, staring at the ceiling. His mind was flashing to millions of different things, most frequently Chloe, but also the possibility of what they were dealing with. He was still surprised over how well Chloe had handled finding out about the things he and his brother dealt with on a daily basis. It was...just..._weird_, honestly...and really hot. He chuckled under his breath. Really, though, the fact that she just accepted their story and had craziness of her own to match it...she was just unlike any girl he'd ever met, and it was a real turn on. He glanced over at Sammy, who was out like a light. If he hadn't been snoring, Dean might've thought he was out cold or something.

Grumbling to himself, he climbed out of bed and started searching for his jeans.

* * *

"Thanks, Ollie. Yeah, I'm fine," Chloe said into the phone. "Yeah, that's everything." She yawned. "No, we'll worry about my computers tomorrow. This takes first priority. I want you to see if you can't find out who our mystery puppet master is."

"You do realize that your security systems are probably down, too, right?" Oliver responded wearily. "I don't like you being alone over there. Do you want me to send someone over? Or maybe you should go stay with Lois until we get things running again," he suggested.

Chloe heard the elevator door open and spun around to see a mildly confused looking Dean. She grinned.

"I don't think that will be necessary, Ollie. I'll be fine. Call me if you find out anything, okay?"

"Fine, but call me if you need anything, okay?"

"Of course. Bye, Oliver," she said, hanging up.

Dean's eyebrows were up, looking at the broken computers. "What the hell happened here?"

"Something very human," she said, glancing around at the damage and cringing inwardly. Her poor computers. She shook her head. "Bright side is, I don't think it's anything from beyond the grave," she added.

Dean frowned. "Yeah I guess." He still wasn't convinced. Although, Chloe had told them Luthor died in an explosion, so it didn't seem possible that his spirit could be haunting anything. But then, he thought to himself, there was still the possibility of an object of some sort...

Chloe watched him in amusement. "Do you always do that?"

He glanced up at her. "What?"

"That brooding thing you're doing. I can see the wheels in your brain turning at about ninety miles an hour."

He shrugged, the slight crease at his eyebrows still in place.

They were quiet. Then finally she sighed, looking at her watch. "May I ask what brings you here at..._two_ in the morning?"

He looked somewhat sheepish. He hadn't really realized how late it was. "Sorry. I don't know. Couldn't sleep," he shrugged. "Guess I thought I'd come to see if you'd found out anything else."

Chloe smiled. "I'll get some coffee."

Dean shook his head. Shouldn't she be asleep? Or offended that he'd shown up unannounced at such an ungodly hour? Or that he'd just assumed it was all right to come to her place alone in the middle of the night?

_Or something?_


	6. Chapter 6

**Author's Comment: Okay, I'm going to go ahead an apologize to all the people who are enjoying this story so much, but I'm going to take one more chapter after this one to tie up the loose strings and put this fic to bed! I'm sorry, but it has completely run away with itself, and I never intended for it to be more than two or three chapters tops. Finishing it off so abruptly will probably involve a major time leap of some sort and I apologize because I know how lame that is, but it can't be helped right now. I'll do my best to give it justice, but it's really got to end!**

"Chloe? Oh thank god. I've been calling for the last hour! What have you been doing?"

Chloe looked at the clock and grumbled. It was barely 6:30 in the morning. "Sleeping, Oliver," she said irritably.

She heard Oliver let out a relieved breath of air. "I thought you were going to stay with Lois last night." Chloe gave a guilty glance at Dean, who was sleeping on her couch. He must have moved her to her bed at some point.

"Did I say that?" Chloe thought back vaguely. She was fairly certain she hadn't promised anything of the kind.

"Well whatever. Point is, I've figured out who it is. Name of Morgan Edge. He bought out almost half the shares of Luthorcorp after Lex died. Just like you said, he resurrected dozens of Lex's old more-than-morally-ambiguous projects. I'm calling the team in now and we're going to take care of it. If Edge doesn't want his name plastered all over the papers, he's going to keep his mouth shut when we've got the rest of his projects out of commission. We'll get the people running things behind bars and the victims to safety, so you can relax."

Chloe actually breathed a sigh of relief, not realizing she'd actually been holding her breath during his report.

"Ollie?" she asked.

"Yeah.

"Hurry up and get back here so you can replace my computers. I miss my babies."

"You know, maybe this is healthy for you," she could hear him grinning through the phone.

"I'm having separation anxiety, Ollie. That's not healthy," she answered bitingly.

She heard Dean stir slightly on the couch, but she couldn't lower her voice or Oliver would ask who was with her. She wasn't sure she'd be able to prevent him abandoning the mission and marching over there to beat Dean to a pulp.

"Well whatever, all I know is I'm looking forward to taking out the goons who kidnapped you Chloe. This is way beyond personal."

"Don't do anything rash, Ollie," she sighed wearily.

"Who me?" he asked amusedly. "The king of thinking things through? I'm sure I don't know what you mean."

She chuckled.

"Chloe, look, do me a favor. I know you think you can take care of yourself, but I want you to head over to Clark's or Lois's. From what I've found out, you're still on this guy's hit list. You've been nosing around in his business too much. And after last night...well, I'm thinking you may have drawn some unnecessary attention to yourself."

"Fine, Oliver. I'll check in with Clark within the next hour. Happy?"

"Ecstatic. Gotta go."

"Don't do anything stupid," she grumbled just before he hung up. It was her way of saying "Be Safe."

She laid down her cell and looked at Dean on her couch. This was an extremely unusual predicament for her. I mean, technically they hadn't _done_ anything last night. At least...nothing serious. She shuddered at the sudden memory of Dean pressing her against a wall as his lips captured hers.

She didn't think either of them had been planning on it. Yeah, Dean seemed like that kind of guy, of course, but at the same time, she just didn't think it was premeditated. Besides, since when did "that kind of guy" carry you to bed and stay the whole night on your couch for no reason? It was kind of sweet that he'd stuck around.

She went to her fridge and pulled out the last slice of a pie she'd picked up from the bakery a couple of mornings ago. She laughed at the memory of how the JL had nearly cleaned it out in two minutes. She cut the slice in half and slipped them onto two plates. Then she took one of the plates and carried it over to where Dean was sleeping. She waved it under his nose.

"Deeeaaaaan," she said. "Wake uuuuuup."

His nose twitched and ten seconds later his eyes opened blearily. Then he seemed to take in her face and opened them fully, looking around him in surprise. Well thank God last night hadn't been a dream, he thought, remembering leaning over Chloe on the couch as her back arched into his. He stifled a chill. Holy sh--

"Is that pie?" he asked, startled, snatching the place from her.

She laughed, nodding. "Peach streussel," she said, heading back for her own plate.

"Pie for breakfast," he said, sitting up. "God, you are the perfect woman, you know that?"

She laughed and then sobered up quickly.

"I'm calling Clark over here within the next hour, so unless you want to be thrown out on your rear by someone whose got an overdramatic big brother, complex, you should probably leave before then."

He nodded his head, mouth full of pie. "Why are you calling over the geek squad?"

"Oliver called. You and I never really got around to talking about business last night," the corner of her lip twitched, "but I figured out that what's been behind these murders is definitely human--"

"People are freaks," Dean grumbled.

"--and Oliver's figured out who it is. He and...a team of people trained for this kind of thing are taking care of it, but he thinks I'm probably still in danger, so he wants Clark over here to keep an eye on me."

"Do you always do everything Mommy and Daddy say?" Dean asked, raising an eyebrow.

Chloe nodded. "When it comes to this kind of thing, I do. Ollie might be overprotective, but he's also usually right, and after last night," she looked around at her now useless computer system, "I've painted a huge target on my own forehead."

Dean looked around, taking in her meaning. "You know, I think this is one of the top ten weirdest missions I've ever been on, and it doesn't actually appear to involve the undead. Normally I feel like I'm in a horror flick. Right now it's more like....SciFi."

Chloe gave a somewhat mysterious smile. "I tend to feel more like I'm in a superhero comic book."

He stared at her, but she didn't clarify. Then his phone went off.

"Kansas," she said approvingly at the ringtone _Carry on My Wayward Son_. He just smirked and picked it up.

"Dean where the heck are you?" he heard his brother's voice demand.

"Didn't I leave note?" Dean muttered still a little groggy.

"NO!"

"Oh. Well. I'm with Chloe. No big. By the way, she figured out what's been going on and it's totally human. Nothin' to do with us."

He heard Sam swear lightly. "People are _freaks_."

"I know, right?"

"Well, if that's the case, I've just gotten a call from one of dad's old friends. Seriously problem over in Colorado."

"Yeah? What?"

"He's not sure, but I think it might be one of those Tibetan Thought Demons."

Dean swore.

"We should get going, like, _now_."

"Now? As in this morning?" he looked over at Chloe, who was shuffling through some papers, not paying attention.

"Yeah. Kiss your wife goodbye and get over here."

"Shut up, dude."

"Whatever. Just do it."

"Fine. See you within the hour."

He hung up and looked guiltily at Chloe. Since when did he feel guilty about leaving anyway? This was stupid. He shook his head.

* * *

**Author's Comment: Okay, someone was confused about them remembering a kiss that hadn't "happened." I didn't actually write a scene with them kissing (sorry!), I chose instead to have them relate the memories to fill in the gap of what had happened the previous night. Sorry if that was unclear.**


	7. Chapter 7

**Author's Comment: Well here we go, final chapter. Thanks for all the reviews and comments you've given me along the way! It's been a fun ride! Just a little reminder, too, that I love prompts if you have requests for other stories (preferably oneshots) and I generally respond to them fairly quickly. Just fyi.**

**Thanks Again!**

_**~BlueSuedeShoes**_

**P.S. I'm finally throwing Lois in the picture because I knew a few people had been wanting to see that.**

* * *

_-------Two Months Later-------_

"_I get off on '57 Chevies._

_I get off on screamin' guitars._

_Like the way it gets me, every time it hits me._

_I've got a rock 'n' roll, I've got a rock 'n' roll heart."_

"Who's ring tone is that?" Lois asked, snatching Chloe's phone away from her before she could answer it. She flipped it open. "Hello?"

"Hello?" came the sound of a deep, confused male voice.

"Lois, give me my phone back!" Chloe said, trying to grab it from her cousin, who danced just out of reach, shoving her away.

"Well who is this?" she said into the phone, intrigued. "Sexy voice," she said to Chloe, covering the receiver haphazardly.

"This is Dean. Who the heck is this?"

"Lois, give me the phone!" Chloe hissed, chasing her around the room.

"_Dean!_" Lois said, thrilled. "Well, well, well. Mr. MIA. Let me tell you something. Chloe has been talking about you _constantly_--"

"I have not!" Chloe huffed indignantly.

"Is she there?" Dean asked.

"She _might _be," Lois said evasively. "You're going to have to convince me you're good enough for her before I let you talk to her, though."

"LOIS!"

"Who is this?"

"This is her cousin, Lois."

"Ah," there was a chuckle. "Well what do I have to do to prove it to you?" he asked.

Lois thought hard for a moment, standing up on the table to avoid Chloe. "Let me think...name her favorite food."

"Blueberry pie. With ice cream."

"And the thing that annoys her the most?"

"When her cousin answers her phone for her?" he suggested.

"Close, but no cigar," she said with a smirk. "I'll have to consult the judges." She pretended to deliberate, holding Chloe off with one foot. "The results are in, we've decided you can at least converse with her."

"Glad to hear it."

Lois leaned over and handed the phone to an exasperated Chloe. "He's sounds hot. You should answer the phone right away next time."

"I'm going to murder you, and then I'm going to tell Clark every embarrassing thing I can think of about you, starting with the stuffed animal you've had since you were two."

Lois just grinned. "Well, I've gotta get running anyway, Chlo, so I'll talk to you later. Let me know if you need to run interference with that band of merry men of yours.

Chloe shook her head and held the phone up to her ear. "Hello?" she bit out.

"Nice to hear from you, too," he said, chuckling. "So you've been talking about me constantly, huh? I missed you, too."

"I have not!" Chloe denied vehemently. "I'm going to _murder_ her," she muttered, and Dean just laughed.

"Well listen, Sammy and I have business bringing us into town--"

"We do not!" Chloe heard Sam's voice in the background. She smirked. "Don't lie."

"--and I thought maybe you'd like it if we stopped by to see--"

His voice was suddenly cut short by the sound of muffled a muffled struggle, lot's of shuffling, and arguing. The next thing she knew it was Sam's voice on the other end.

"Hi, Chloe," he said pleasantly. "Eyes on the road, Dean," he added to his brother, who was clearly not pleased.

"Hi, Sam," Chloe said, grinning humorously.

"So listen, Dean is pining away for you and it's driving me nuts, and since we've had a slow spell, he's insisting we finally come visit you again."

"Well that's sweet," she said, giggling.

"Uh huh. And by the way, Dean is sorry for not calling you until now. He's aware that he's a total jackass, but he was too busy not wanting to appear needy to just dial your friggin' number." She heard Dean's muffled protests on the other end.

"Well you can tell him I'll forgive him if he brings me some pie."

"She's says to bake her a pie," she heard Sam tell Dean, and she laughed. "What kind do you want?" he asked her.

"Hmmmm...well why don't you let him decide?"

"Fine." He spoke to Dean again. "She says she wants award winning blueberry pie with a recipe you are to get from some little old lady. Made with freshly picked blueberries."

Chloe laughed. "Sam, put Dean back on the phone," she said, shaking her head.

"If you insist," Sam said lightly, and she heard him hand the phone back to Dean, who was muttering darkly about being made out to be a wuss and something else about itching powder. She chuckled.

" 'lo?" she heard Dean ask again.

"Hi, Dean," she drawled.

"I am not baking you a pie."

"I didn't say to."

"Good. Anyway, are you free or not?"

"Uh huh. When will you be in town?"

"Now."

"What?"

"We're pulling onto your street now."

She looked out her window. Sure enough, a black Impala was coming to a halt in front of her building.

"Sure enough."

"Are you coming down or are we coming up?"

"I'm coming down. I missed that car!" she said, delighted.

"Yeah sure," he said. "It was the _car_ you missed."

"Well you didn't think it was you, did you?" she teased, flying down the stairs.

"Shut up and come give me a kiss," he said, hanging up.

She rolled her eyes. That she would.


End file.
